The present invention relates to a wheeled dolly that will quickly attach to hollow rung ladders, presently made of aluminum or fiberglass, and which can be used for transporting the ladder easily across terrain. The dolly is also small enough so that it can be left installed when the ladder is stored, and when in use.
Various wheeled ladder caddies or dollies have been advanced for supporting ladders while transporting them, including, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,049,283 and 5,727,799. These ladder caddies, however, are unwieldy, and support the ladder with the plane of the ladder rungs horizontal or parallel to the ground, so that a substantial amount of space is taken up. The dollies cannot be left on the ladders for storage.
The present invention relates to a ladder dolly that has an upright support rod which extends through a rung of a hollow rung ladder. The rod is supported on a cross axle at the lower end, with wheels on the axle. The support rod of the dolly slips into place quickly, and then can be used for transporting the ladder with the plane of the ladder perpendicular to the ground.
The support rod that passes through the rung is preferably offset from the axis of the axle for the wheels, so that the dolly will caster and track easily when the ladder is pulled. The dolly is preferably installed near one end of the ladder, and the other end is lifted by the operator movement. The ladder can be balanced on the dolly to reduce the weight lifted by the operator when the ladder is moved. The location of the dolly is normally a matter of choice of the operator, but generally it will be placed on the second or third rung from the bottom.
The ladder dolly is easily manufactured and installed. The ladder dolly is made so that it will take little extra space when the ladder is stored on hooks or the like.